Girl Talk
by Soda
Summary: Some quality girl talk finally gets Buffy to admit her true feelings about Spike. Just a bit of fun fluff to lighten things up. Set during S7 after "Storyteller" but not taking into account the events of "Lies My Parents Told Me."


Girl Talk 

by Soda

Summary: Set in S7, after "Storyteller" but not taking into account the events of "Lies My Parents Told Me."  Some quality girl talk gets Buffy to finally admit her feelings about Spike.  Just a bit of fun fluff.

Pairing: S/B.  Fluffy, lovely S/B.

Spoilers: One big casting spoiler, however, if you saw the Angel episode "Orpheus," (or have read any articles concerning Buffy in the last few months), you should know this already.

Disclaimers: Yeah, yeah, these characters aren't mine; they belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.  Hey Joss, when you're done playing with them, can I have 'em?  No?  Alrighty then . . .

Notes: Thanks to Sallyanne for threatening, erm, "convincing" me to write this fic.  This is basically my first fic, so bare with me, please.

Feedback: Pretty please with a naked Spike on top . . ..

*****

The Summer's house was unusually quiet.  Spike sat in the basement taking slow drags of his cigarette, savoring the wonderful peace that was the result of an all day field trip for all the mini-Buffys.  Yeah, it was nice to take little trips to the Bronze and attempt to drink away the recent stress, but it was better to just sit here and have a bit of quiet, along with a nice smoke.  The only other people in the house were the two Slayers (and awhile back, that would've given him the thrill of his unlife), and he could hear the soft sound of their laughter streaming down from the kitchen.  Nice to see they seemed to be getting along . . ..

*****

"Wait, a puppy?  He actually saved a puppy?"  Buffy was laughing so hard that she was actually crying.  Oh god, the thought of Angel rescuing a cute, little puppy . . ..

"No B, the best thing was that it was this little poodle-type dog.  All cute and girly, and then all of a sudden the big guy is hurling himself in front of a car to save this tiny ball of fur."  Faith was giggling too; yeah, the circumstances in which she'd seen particular flashback weren't ideal, but hey, if you couldn't make light of things in retrospect, what fun was anything?

Buffy wiped her eyes, trying to imagine her ex actually saving a puppy.  The image made her laugh, yet again.  Next time she talked to him, she'd definitely have to remember to tease him about that.  Not like she was going to see him anytime soon, but this story had definite blackmail potential in the event that she ever needed it.  Plus, this was nice.  Talking to Faith, having a Slayer bonding talk, letting bygones (okay, monster knife sized poisoned arrow body switching bygones, but still . . .) be bygones; it was refreshing.  And it was a much-needed break from the chaos that had been her life of late.  The First still appeared to be in remission, but she knew that when it hit, it was going to be major.  Having another Slayer here was incredibly reassuring.  Especially when said Slayer had juicy stories about old Angel.

Faith watched as Buffy tried to control her laughing fit.  This was cool, and freaked as she had initially been by a return to Sunnydale, this wasn't all that bad.  Actually, it felt nice, nicer than anything had felt in awhile.  And she was actually getting along well enough with the fellow Slayer, much to her surprise.  There was so much past there, but somehow the two of them had reached a mutual agreement to leave all of that behind them and move on.  Willow had filled Faith in on the happenings in Sunnydale since Faith's last visit, so she knew about the hell that had been Buffy's life.  The traces were there in the blonde's face – there were small lines, the angles were more acute, but she was still the same Buffy.  And it had been ages since she had had a conversation like this with anyone; hell, the last time had probably been over four years ago before all the shit had gone down between the two of them.

"So, any more fun flashbacks that I should know about?" questioned Buffy.  Horrible outfits?  Bad hair?  Because these stories are the most entertaining thing in Sunnydale since the finale of Joe Millionaire."

Faith grinned.  "Oh, it gets better.  You should've seen him in the 70's.  His hair was all long and wicked scraggly, dressed up John Travolta-like."  Buffy giggled.  "But the best part of this is that he was jamming to, get this, Barry Manilow."

Buffy almost choked on the water that she had just started drinking.  "Barry Manilow?  The Barry Manilow?  Ballad singing piano playing sappy as hell Barry Manilow?"

"The one and only.  Apparently, Mandy is his theme song or something.  Even sings it at the karaoke bar occasionally."  Faith watched, amused, as Buffy choked on her water yet again.  "You look like you're having some problems with that water there, B," she teased.

Buffy wiped her eyes again.  "Oh know, this is all just too funny.  And embarrassing.  My ex was a Barry Manilow fan?  God, my taste in men is really abysmal, isn't it?"

"Really, pet?  I'm hurt."  The baritone from the kitchen startled the two girls, and they jumped around to see Spike casually leaning against the doorway.

Buffy glared at Spike, and he smiled wondering how many time he had prompted that particular reaction from the Slayer.  "How long have you been eavesdropping on us?" she asked.

Spike smirked.  "First off, not eavesdropping.  Just wanted a hot cuppa s'all.  However, I was there long enough to hear those ridiculous stories about the poofter.  Soul boy always did have horrible taste.  Me, now, I was actually cool in the 70s."

Faith cocked an eyebrow at Spike, and gave him a good once over.  "Let me guess.  You were big into the black leather and early punk gear.  Maybe a hot little vest to show off your arms.  And your hair was exactly the same."

Spike was fairly startled by the spot on characterization, but he tried to cover his surprise.  "No, you're all wrong."  Both of the slayers stared at him, disbelieving.  "Yeah, all right.  But how'd you figure that one?"

Buffy pointed at Spike's outfit.  "Perhaps because you're fashion taste hasn't really changed all that much in the past 30 years?"

"Hey!  I've updated.  Black and leather are classics not be messed with.  And that's not the point anyway.  The point is, I was much cooler than Peaches.  And now that I have a soul, I'm still much cooler than the Anne Rice wannabe."  Spike smiled triumphantly.  Nothing like throwing a few insults at his Neanderthal grandsire.

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Riiiiight.  Two words Spike: School.  Basement."

Bloody hell, she was never going to let that one go.  "Hey!  Under the influence of some all-powerful evil.  Give a bloke some slack, Slayer!"  Yeah, that was better; it's not like he could've controlled his crazy behavior.  He leered at her mischievously.  "And look who's talking about crazy.  If memory serves correctly, this time last year, pet, you were trying to kill all of your friends. Yeah, you're just the poster child for sanity."

"Okay, that was so not my fault!  Evil monster sent after me by a bunch of nerds isn't exactly something I can control."

"Yeah, but you almost chose to live a fantasy life in a mental institution."

"Oh, you want to talk bad choices?  You dated Harmony!"

"Yeah, and at the same time you were dating Captain Cardboard.  You were right Slayer, myself excluded, you really do have horrible taste in men."

"Of course, because Harmony and Dru are such great romantic choices."

Faith figured this particular strain of banter could've gone on forever.  (Obviously, the history that Willow had told her about was still very much in the present.)  But she wasn't in the mood to sit there and listen to this all day, so it was time to break this party up.  "Ooh, check out the love bunnies," she drawled.

Two blonde heads whipped around to face Faith.  "Excuse me?" said Buffy.  "I am so not in love with him anymore.  Not even close.  Not at all!"  Spike watched Buffy's reaction with interest.  The lady doth protest a little much perhaps . . .

Faith shrugged.  "Yeah, just keep telling yourself that B.  There's been more sexual tension between you two in these past few minutes than there is between Clark and Lex in an entire episode of Smallville."

Spike sniggered.  "Never much cared for that show."

Buffy just gave Faith a confused look.  "Smallville??"

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly like I've had high quality entertainment for the last few years.  Plus, what else am I going to do on a Tuesday night at 9pm?"

"You're right, everything does get surprisingly quiet around that time," admitted Buffy.

"Anyway, the point is, even those blind minion dudes could see that there's some seriously hot chemistry between you two."  Buffy merely glared at Faith again.

Spike figured that it was time to leave the two ladies alone again to work this particular issue out.  Time to make a graceful exit.  Spike walked towards the refrigerator and grabbed the bag of blood that had been his original intention in his kitchen trip.  He looked over at the two Slayers.  Yeah, Buffy looked ready to kill Faith.  Best leave them alone.

"Well ladies, it's been fun, but I've got what I came for," he held up the bag of blood, "so I should be going now.  Try not to kill each other while I'm gone.  Don't fancy having to clean up after you knock each other unconscious."  And in a swoosh of leather, he was out the kitchen door.

"Hey, we're 5x5, no need to worry about us!" Faith called out after him.  Then she chuckled lightly, looking over at Buffy.  "Gotta hand it you, girlfriend, he's a hottie.  Must be a firecracker in the sack."

"Faith!"

"Ah come on now.  Don't tell me you're still pulling that innocent little girl act.  Willow filled me in on your little adventures last year, and from the sounds of it, your relationship was far from being all chocolate and roses.  Sounded more like a leather and bondage type of deal."  She winked.  "Which is even better, if you ask me.  Don't even try to deny it."

Buffy blushed, mainly because of how true Faith's words were.  She'd never really talked in detail about her relationship with Spike to anyone, and it would be nice to have a little bit of girl talk.  And why not take the opportunity now since everyone else was out of the house . …  She looked around the kitchen nervously, sure that Giles and the rest of the gang were going to enter any minute.  Then she smiled shyly at Faith.  "Oh my god, you wouldn't even believe it."

Faith smiled.  So she'd finally managed to crack Buffy, Princess of Priss.  Who would've figured.  She hopped up on the kitchen counter.  "So, what's the deal now then?  I mean, how the hell do you manage having him in the house without slamming him against the wall and getting a little unnnh in?  Lord knows I've been tempted to."

Buffy looked at the other Slayer warily, but laughed.  "Nice to see the return of my favorite vocabulary word.  And just for the record, hands off of Spike."  She smiled gently to let Faith understand she was joking.  "But really, it's just so confusing.  I mean, last year, God, last year was so horrible.  I hated myself, I hated being here, I hated him." She paused briefly, a small segment of their relationship flashing before her.  Breaking a house.  Leaving him bruised and beaten in an ally.  The bathroom.  Spike taunting her about Slayers after their first night together.  Spike listening to her.  Spike comforting her.  Spike letting her use him as her own personal punching bag.  She sighed.  "But I needed him.  And I hated myself for needing him, for knowing that he was the only thing that made me feel better, that made me feel at all.  We were horrible to each other; we both said and did things that . .." she trailed off with another sigh, wondering if she's ever really verbalized all of this.  Might as well go with the flow.  "And then he goes and gets himself a soul.  Who does that?  And he came back.  They never come back."  Her voice was soft now, and Faith realized that she may as well have not been in the room.  Obviously, Buffy had been holding all of this in for quite awhile, not as if that was a surprise to Faith.   She looked up as Buffy continued.  "And this entire year has been so confusing.  Trying to figure him out, and at the same time there is all of this drama going on.  Over the summer, I tried not to think about him, to think about our relationship, if you could even call it that, or the fact that if I had even let myself, I could've fallen in love with him."  Buffy looked up at Faith, her eyes glistening.  She had never admitted out loud just how close she had been, maybe still was, to falling in love with Spike.

"Okay B, so you couldn't let yourself love him last year.  Makes sense, you were a wreck, and there were issues.  But what's stopping you now?  You were worried the lack of soul last year, right?  Well he has one now, one which he got for you.  And also, the whole soul deal?  Not as cut and dry as people tend to make it.  Trust me."  She shivered slightly, remembering her whole flashback dream trip with Angel.  "And hey, if the world is going to hell in a handbasket, why not have a little bit of happiness before then?

Faith had a way of making everything seem so simple.  But Buffy realized that she was right.  Why shouldn't she be happy?  And why hadn't she been able to realize this earlier?  She looked up at her fellow Slayer.  "I'm glad you're around, Faith.  And not just for the fighty stuff."

Faith shrugged sheepishly, trying not to show just how much Buffy's words meant to her.  "Hey, no sweat, B.  It's not so bad here."  Then she grinned wickedly.  "So, I was right?  You love him?"

"Love?  Well love is such a strong word, I mean, I'm not sure I actually love him, have feelings maybe, but . .."

"Cut the bullshit already, Buffy."

Buffy smiled warmly.  "Yeah, I just might love the crazy vamp after all."

******

This time, Spike really hadn't meant to eavesdrop.  His blood was cold as hell, so he had headed back to the kitchen to stick it in the microwave for a bit.  But when he had heard them talking, he couldn't help but listen.  And he could barely believe what he was hearing.  She might love him?  He felt as if he was in some wonderful dreamland, and it was all he could do to keep quiet and not ruin his cover.  He'd waited such a long time to hear that word, hell, to hear any type of admission of feelings on her behalf, but recently, he'd almost given up hope on ever getting anything.  Spike began to pace back and forth.  This meant everything; this was bloody fantastic.  Of course, not like he could act like he'd heard her admission, but nevertheless, everything was different now.

Spike was interrupted from his reverie by the sound of the kitchen door swinging open.  He stopped his pacing and stared as Buffy emerged from the kitchen.  Bollocks. . . .

Buffy stopped in surprise upon seeing Spike standing there, looking as guilty as Dawn did whenever Buffy caught her stealing her clothing.  Oh god, had he heard?  How long had be been listening?  Frantic thoughts raced through her head as she continued to gape at Spike.

Spike held up his bag of blood.  "S'cold.  Just coming back up here to heat it up a bit."  Yeah, it sounded like a flimsy excuse, but that was why he'd wanted to return to the kitchen.

"Right, warming up blood," said Buffy, nodding vigorously.  She looked at Spike nervously.  "So you definitely wouldn't have heard anything that Faith and I were talking about then, right?  I mean, not like you would've wanted to; it was just girly stuff.  Totally not anything that would've interested you."

Spike looked at her evenly.  He knew that he should just lie and pretend he hadn't heard a thing.  That would be the safe thing to do; last thing he wanted was to upset the Slayer right now, but . . ..  Oh, sod it all, he thought in frustration, can't let this one just lie here.

Spike was staring at Buffy with smoldering intensity, his bright blue eyes shining.  She wished that she could look away, but his eyes held her captive, and when he spoke, his voice was a soft whisper.

"What, you talking about me?"  Buffy began to protest, but Spike cut her off with a small hand gesture.  His voice managed to drop a pitch lower.  "Say anything in there that you didn't want me to hear, pet?"

So he knew then; he'd heard their conversation.  And strangely, she didn't care.  What was the point of her little epiphany if she wasn't going to share it with the one person who it really mattered to?  She took a deep breath.  There was a neon sign that read "Entering dangerous waters" flashing in her head, but she was taking the plunge nevertheless.  She walked towards him slowly, stopping so close that they were almost touching.  Here goes nothing, she thought as she looked up at Spike.

"Yes, and no," she replied, smiling gently.  She watched his response, which was more than predictable.  First there was the eyebrow raise and then, wait for it, the head tilt.  She repressed a giggle.

She could be right frustrating at times, thought Spike.  But he wasn't giving up yet.  "And what exactly do you mean by that, love?"

"Yes, we were talking about you."  She saw Spike begin to smirk.  "And you can wipe that contented smile off your face right now."  The chastisement, of course, just made Spike's grin widen.  She lowered her voice so that it as softer, gentler.  "And no, there's nothing that I didn't want you to hear.  It's stuff that I should tell you anyway."

Buffy watched as a flood of emotions washed over Spike's face.  Wonder, hope, amazement, relief, even some slight confusion.  She could tell that he was trying to guard it, wary after all of the drama of last year, but Spike had always worn his emotions on his sleeve.  He leaned forward and brushed her hair away from her face, letting is thumb trail slowly along her cheek.  A contented exhalation escaped from Buffy.  The touch felt so good, so natural.  "God Buffy, I love you," Spike whispered.

"Spike, I . . ." she trailed off, wanting to say it, but still feeling worried about the implications of those three little words.

Spike gently put his hand over her lips.  "Sssh.  I understand, love.  Don't have to say it yet.  I heard you in the kitchen.  Don't want to push you into anything you're not ready for."

Buffy stepped back, running her hands through her hair.  "No, Spike, it's not okay.  I have these feelings, and I always bottle them up, never let anyone know what's going on.  And that way only lies badness, a world of bad.  Trust me, been there, done that, got the tshirt.  No, this time I have to . . ."

Buffy's little monologue was interrupted another swing of the kitchen door, and this time Faith appeared.  "B, just get on with it already.  He loves you, you love him, now get with the kissing."  The pair both stared at her icily.  "Anyway, I figured you two crazy kids could use some privacy, so I'm going to hit the town."  Faith grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door.  As she was exiting, she looked back over her shoulder and winked.  "And don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

As the door slammed, Spike grabbed Buffy's hand, pulling her into him.  "Well, s'pose that leaves us with plenty of options, doesn't it, pet?"

Buffy punched him lightly on the shoulder.  "You're a pig, Spike."

"You need some new lines, Slayer.  That songs getting old."

Buffy looked up at Spike and met his gaze.  "How about this one?  I love you."  And with that admission finally out of the way, she leaned up and kissed Spike.

The kiss was soft and sweet, different from anything they'd ever had before.  Buffy realized it felt like coming home; it felt incredible and natural.  It felt like it could've lasted forever.

Well, maybe it could've lasted forever in some other, less chaotic house.  The Potentials, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies chose that exact moment to walk into the house, each of them yammering on a mile a minute.  The lovely peace of the day came to abrupt halt, and Spike and Buffy quickly broke away from each other, not sure if the others had seen.  All of the Potentials bee-lined towards the kitchen, almost knocking Buffy and Spike over in their quest for food.  "I'm so in need of some popcorn," said Rona, as she brushed past Buffy.  As the rest flocked into the kitchen Giles flopped down on the couch.  Buffy smiled.  "Rough day?"

"God, yes," sighed Giles.  "Really, I always thought that handling one hormonal teenager was quite enough.  I could never have even imagined this."

"Hey!  I was not hormonal!"  Spike coughed and Giles just gave her a withering look.

"Yes, well, at least you were a piece of cake compared to all of these girls.  Really, if I hear one more word about clothing or Justin whatever the hell his last name is, I may very well go crazy."

"Timberlake," supplied Spike.  Giles and Buffy both looked at him in surprise.  "You know, the bloke they were talking about.  Justin Timerblake.  From N'Sync.  Spent hours listening to Niblet yammer on about him last summer.  If you ask me, he doesn't have an ounce of talent in him."

"Yes, well, thank you for your expert assessment Spike."  A scream erupted from the kitchen.  Giles sighed, and stood up slowly.  "Perhaps I should go in and make sure everything is alright."

As much as Buffy had been enjoying her day of peace, Giles looked absolutely exhausted.  "No, Giles, I can check on them.  You've had them all day."  She looked at Spike, who nodded, letting her know that he didn't mind.

"No Buffy, today was your day off from all of this, and I intend to keep good on my word.  Why don't you just go up to your room and try to get some more rest?  I'll keep them contained down there."  Giles began to head resignedly towards the kitchen.

Buffy headed towards the stares.  "Thanks, Giles," she said, as she walked upstairs.  "Don't worry, it's only a few more hours."

Spike was left standing in the living room contemplating everything that had just happened.  Buffy loved him.  Bleeding Christ, she's actually said it.  He had never really dreamed that he could ever get this lucky.  Sure, there was hope, but he had never seriously entertained the possibility.  And now, despite the return of the chaos to the house, really, he didn't think this day could get any better.

His thoughts were interrupted as Buffy popped her head over the stairway.  "Earth to Spike.  What are you waiting for?  Get up here!"  With that, she winked and sauntered off towards her room.

Then again, maybe it could.


End file.
